Gladwin names Seebeck superintendent

The Gladwin school board voted to offer a contract to Rick Seebeck in its meeting Monday night pending a few minor changes - in effect a step away from sealing the deal on their new superintendent.

By Cynthia J. Drake

It's official: Midland Public Schools are losing an assistant principal while Gladwin Community Schools are gaining a superintendent.

The Gladwin school board voted to offer a contract to Rick Seebeck in its meeting Monday night pending a few minor changes - in effect a step away from sealing the deal on their new superintendent.

Seebeck will finish his term as assistant principal at Midland High School this summer, starting at Gladwin on July 1. He replaces Dan Boles, who resigned from the post last fall.

He will lead a district that is roughly one-fifth the size of Midland's - Gladwin has 2,060 pupils versus 9,556 at Midland - and one with which he's familiar. A Gladwin resident himself, Seebeck graduated from Gladwin schools in 1983.

"I'm unbelievably excited about the challenge," he said. "Probably the biggest change I will bring is that I will be a very visible part of the school and the community."

Seebeck said he plans to meet with teachers, parents and school employees throughout the first few months on the job to get a feel for the district.

His willingness to relate well with people is one of the things that made him an attractive candidate to Gladwin out of the five who were interviewed, said board president Ron Taylor.

"Throughout our interviews, we got to talk to quite a diverse group of people in Midland - support staff, secretaries, custodians, teachers … and everybody said he's out and he's about and he has the ability to be personable with everyone," said Taylor. "He really cares about kids."

Taylor said bus drivers told him Seebeck even rode the bus home with students if there was a problem to be resolved.

"He did what he had to do to make sure the situation was resolved," Taylor said.

Gladwin, like many school districts, faces a tight budget in the coming years, though the community recently passed an $11 million construction bond for renovations and added classroom space. Construction begins this summer.

"We're in the process of preparing next year's budget and it means we're going to have to make some real belt-tightening moves," said Taylor, who mentioned the board is considering cutting sports funding and consolidating bus routes.

Another challenge Gladwin Community Schools faces is its failure to meet standards for Adequate Yearly Process as deemed by the federal No Child Left Behind Act.

Taylor said he's confident Seebeck can do the job.

"What we saw (in Seebeck) is he has an energy and a love for what he's doing. He's able to instill that in other people, and he's able to get them involved in the process," he said.

Aside from his administration experience, which spanned seven years in Midland, Seebeck has worked as a teacher in Gladwin's alternative education program, where he developed an acclaimed COOL (Caring Outlook On Learning) school concept. He also has served as a platoon sergeant in the U.S. Marine Corps.

He and his wife, Jody, have two children, 3-year-old Erik and 4-month-old Anna.

"For a position like this, the experience you bring comes from everywhere - you have experience as a human, experience as a father and a husband," he said. "You bring all that to the table - it's not just your administrative experience, it's the whole mix of everything that you bring."